Which part of the Johari window represents information that you know but arent willing to reveal to others?

The Johari window is a technique created in 1955 by two American psychologists, Joseph Luft (1916–2014) and Harrington Ingham (1914–1995),[1] used to help people better understand their relationship with self and others. It is used primarily in self-help groups and corporate settings as a heuristic exercise.

When performing the exercise, subjects are given a list of 55 adjectives and pick five or six that they feel describe their own personality. Peers of the subject are then given the same list, and each pick five or six adjectives that describe the subject. These adjectives are then mapped onto a grid.[2]

The philosopher Charles Handy calls this concept the Johari House with four rooms. Room 1 is the part of ourselves that we see and others see. Room 2 is the aspects that others see but we are not aware of. Room 4 is the most mysterious room in that the unconscious or subconscious part of us is seen by neither ourselves nor others. Room 3 is our private space, which we know but keep from others.

Open or Arena: Adjectives that are selected by both the participant and his or her peers are placed into the Open or Arenaquadrant. This quadrant represents traits of the subjects that both they and their peers are aware of.

Hidden or Façade: Adjectives selected only by subjects, but not by any of their peers, are placed into the Hidden or Façade quadrant, representing information about them their peers are unaware of. It is then up to the subject to disclose this information or not.

Blind : Adjectives that are not selected by subjects but only by their peers are placed into the Blind Spot quadrant. These represent information that the subject is not aware of, but others are, and they can decide whether and how to inform the individual about these "blind spots".

Unknown: Adjectives that were not selected by either subjects or their peers remain in the Unknown quadrant, representing the participant's behaviors or motives that were not recognized by anyone participating. This may be because they do not apply or because there is collective ignorance of the existence of these traits.

Have you ever wondered about how much personal information to share with the people around you? If you share too much information, it may distort the 'professional' nature of the relationship. Also, sharing more than what is necessary may lead you to regret at a later stage of the relationship. On the other hand, if you are not very forthcoming, people around you may not consider you open and trustworthy. Avoidance of sharing personal information may damage your relationship with others. Instead of making these decisions arbitrarily, you need to develop a strategy on the basis of which you can take the decisions systematically.

Self-disclosure is a strategy of deliberately revealing information about ourselves. This includes information about us, our personality, feelings, and reactions.  In a relationship, if parties do not share sufficient information about each other, the relationship may not develop fully. Self-disclosure on both sides is necessary for the development of positive interpersonal relationship

The Johari Window model is a simple and useful tool for illustrating and improving self-awareness and mutual understanding among individuals within a group. The model can also be used to assess and improve a group's relationship with other groups. The model was developed by American psychologists Joseph Luft and Harry Ingham in the 1950s, while researching group dynamics. The Johari Window model is especially relevant in the context of interpersonal behaviour, empathy, cooperation, and group collaboration. The four panes of the Johari Window are described below.

Open (Arena): The open area represents that part of our personality which we are aware of and which is also known to others. We move within this area with openness, frankness, and confidence. This window is generally related to a well-developed positive relationship. In this style, we find that we can trust somebody or some party because they are closer to us. Therefore we are ready to disclose more to them. If this area is too large in a relationship, the relationship may not acquire a professional status. On the other hand, if the area is too narrow, the relationship may not develop optimally. Here is an example:

Kramer has recently started working as a trainee engineer at Network Systems International. He missed the deadline for an important work assignment and the boss may not be very happy about this. What the boss does not know is that he missed the deadline because members of his team did not co-operate with him. Since they did not follow the deadlines given to them, there was very little Kramer could do in order to complete the project in time. Members of Kramer’s team are senior professionals, and he did not wish to displease anybody. Finally he decided to meet up with the boss and explain to him these facts.

In this example, Kramer decided to enlarge the Arena and share more information with the boss. Although the boss may not approve of his reasons and may consider them as excuses, this action of sharing information will help Kramer in long run.

If the 'arena' is too large , the relationship may not acquire a professional status. 

Hidden(Facade): The hidden area  of a personality or a relationship contains information that we wish to keep confidential. This may be usual in a new relationship. However, sometimes we keep information to ourselves out of fear or lack of confidence. The reasons for non-disclosure may be lack of trust, inhibition or shyness, and uncertainty.

Here is an example of Facade in a relationship.

Diyana used to work as a Programme Executive in an IT company. She lost her job recently due to a restructuring in the company. She was one of the 48 employees who were retrenched a couple of months ago. Although this has no relation with Diyana’s performance, she seems to have taken it personally. She lied to her friends and told them that she has resigned from the job because of ‘some personal circumstances.’ The friends are therefore unable to help her in her search of a new job. Some of her friends are IT professionals and they are aware of a number of leads and opportunities in the field. However, they think that Diyana does not wish to be employed, and hence do not share this information with her.

In this case, Diyana has enlarged the Facade area of her personality and hence she is likely to remain unemployed for a long time.

Blind Spot: The Blind area consists of information about ourselves that we may not have but others may have. For instance, John might think that he is always willing to help others. However, his friends may not be able to see this willingness. They might consider him to be an uncooperative person. If John does not have information about this perception, it creates a Blind Spot in that relationship. Similarly, Mary might consider herself to be a mediocre secretary, while her bosses might consider her to be a good potential leader. If Mary does not have this information about her potential this Blind Spot will prevent her from asking for a raise or a promotion.

A Blind Spot may prevent professionals from asking for a raise or a promotion.

Unknown: This quadrant represents the unexplored part of our personality. There are parts of our personality that are so deep neither we nor the people around us can reach or explore them. This part may be our sub-conscious or semi-conscious mind. In a new relationship, some parts of our personality or the relationship may be completely unexplored by both parties. As the relationship develops, these aspects can come to light and can be dealt with more certainty.

The Johari Window is a very useful model to map one’s self-disclosure level. While a low level of self-disclosure leads to lower quality of relationships, a high level of self-disclosure might be inappropriate in some contexts such as a new relationship. Optimal self-disclosure is essential for building a rapport, which can be the basis of good communication.

Adapted from Pathak, A. (2014). Communication Dynamics. Smashwords International Edition.

Available at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/495751

What are the four parts of the Johari Window?

Which quadrant of the Johari Window contains information that is known to others but unknown by you?

What does the open self of the Johari Window represent?

Which self in the Johari model represents all that you know about yourself that you keep secret from others?